Those Who Defend
by LinariteLavanya
Summary: Valeria and her twin get caught up helping Cloud and the others deal with the newest threat, a group called Justice whose goals are unknown. Combined with the return of heroes long thought dead, the stage is set for what may be the greatest conflict yet. -RETURNED FROM HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay so this fic takes place about a year or so after Dirge of Cerberus, and the main characters are my two OCs, Valeria and Vanessa, who are twin sisters and in about their early twenties. This story is probably going to be something of a lengthy tale, just because the plot I have in mind is rather involved. It'll involve Genesis, and maybe Sephiroth coming back(hopefully with his sanity restored, because I actually liked him in Crisis Core before he went all nutzo…), and of course a big bad villain (NOT Sephy, I promise. He's been the villain too often for my tastes), definitely Weiss at some point (I won't be making him axe-crazy either; I attribute his blood knight personality from DoC to being under Hojo's control. Because let's face it: Having Hojo in your head is enough to drive anyone off the edge), probably not Nero since Weiss assimilated him but if I can think of a good way of bringing him back I will…..Well, basically, you'll have to wait an see what happens, since I obviously don't know exactly where this is going either. And I'm talking too much. XD. Enjoy the story. **

* * *

><p>Valeria rode her motorcycle home from work, thinking the entire time of how to tell her sister the news.<p>

It wasn't entirely bad news, but it was by no means goods news either.

"Vanessa," she called, dismounting her bike and walking into their apartment. "I'm home."

"Welcome back," a voice called from the kitchen, before it was followed by its owner.

As usual, it was practically like staring into a mirror. Valeria and her twin sister Vanessa were almost identical. The only differences were height and eye color. Vanessa was two inches shorter, and had pale blue eyes, while Valeria's were bright green. Both girls were twenty-four years old.

"How was your day?" Vanessa asked.

"Reeve received some strange reports of people a couple towns away showing strange behavior and then disappearing."

"But nothing here in Edge?"

"Not yet, no."

"But he wants you to investigate?"

Valeria shrugged. As a member of the WRO she was often sent to look into anything that might lead to another threat to the Planet or its inhabitants. "He didn't order me to go anywhere. He just wants me to keep an eye out here in town, in case something happens."

"Why not ask Cloud or Vincent?" Vanessa asked. "They're all heroic or whatever, saving the world. Repeatedly, I might add."

Valeria snorted. "This isn't a big enough deal for them in look into personally, Nessa. I'm sure if it turns into another emergency they'll help, but until then…"

"I'm calling Tifa." Vanessa complained. "She can get Cloud to investigate."

"Nessa!" Valeria grabbed her sister's wrist before she could grab the cordless phone. "Don't go asking for favors when you don't need to. Besides, it's almost five o'clock. Tifa's probably busy with customers."

"Mm."

"Vanessa." she said sternly. "Don't call. Cloud and the others already know what's going on. If you call it'll just make it seem like I can't do my job."

"…Fine." Vanessa reluctantly let her hand drop to her side.

"What's for dinner?" Valeria asked, effectively closing their previous topic of conversation.

An hour later, Vanessa and Valeria sat down to a joint-effort dinner consisting of pasta and broccoli.

Vanessa was too worried to engage in much conversation. The idea of another growing threat terrified her, though she didn't show it. Last year it had been Deepground her twin had fought against. Valeria had been one of the WRO soldiers to fight alongside Vincent in Calm when Deepground had first attacked him. And she'd also been at WRO Headquarters when Azul the Cerulean had 'come back from the dead' while in their custody and proceeded to decimate their forces. Valeria had commanded a small group of WRO soldiers during the Deepground attack on HQ, and had been so effective at helping to repel the enemy forces that she was now highly valued by Reeve. Which only worried Vanessa more. She was proud of her sister, of course, but…she was so scared that one day Valeria would leave on a mission to help save the world and never come home again.

Of course, since she and Valeria weren't entirely human anymore, the odds of this happening had continued to go down. But it still worried her. So what if they had been part of some experiment that had imbued them with some sort of materia energy. So what if they healed faster for it and were stronger at 'magic' because of it. It didn't make them invulnerable to harm. They could still be killed. Valeria could still die on a mission.

"You look troubled." Valeria observed, choosing not to mention the fact she'd asked her twin to pass the butter for the fifth time and had been ignored. Also for the fifth time.

"Huh? Oh," Vanessa flushed. "Just thinking."

"I noticed." the older twin said mildly. "And the thoughts you're thinking can't be very good. Your face has been falling farther every minute."

"Uh, I, uh…Oh, I just-"

"You worry too much." Valeria said, interrupting her sister's stammering. "You get the same brooding look every time I tell you about work."

"How can I not?" the younger twin demanded. "When every time Reeve sends you out on a mission you might not come home. When every time your phone rings I-"

Her tirade was cut short by, of all things, Valeria's phone. Picking it up off the table, Valeria couldn't help but notice her sister's what-did-I-tell-you look.

_Feeling vindicated? _She mouthed at her sister as she answered the phone. "Hey Reeve."

_Very. _Vanessa stabbed at her broccoli angrily.

"Valeria, I'm glad I could get a hold of you."

"What's going on? You interrupted dinner."

"My apologies, but it _is_ important."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Remember those strange disappearances we were talking about earlier?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this could be entirely unrelated, but out sensors have picked up some sort of energy spike deeper in the city."

"Deeper?" she repeated, curious.

"Yes, it seems to be coming from somewhere in an abandoned slum area."

"Are you sending someone to check it out?"

"That's where I was hoping you might come in. I'd like for you to go have a look around."

"By myself?" she asked, ignoring her sister's overdramatic face palming.

"No, I'm sending Vincent and Shelke to accompany you."

"Why not Yuffie or Barret or someone? Even just my normal squad would be fine."

"Your squad's on a different assignment, but now that you mention it…Yuffie might be better suited to this task than Vincent. I'll have her meet you there."

"Okay. I'll call you once we're done."

"Very well. I look forward to your report."

She hung up, and turned to her sister. "I have work to do." she said apologetically.

Her twin just glared at her. "I sorta figured that from the fact it was Reeve calling."

Valeria sighed. "Come on, Nessa, don't be mad. The work I do is important, you know that. I'm helping people."

Her twin relented. "I understand that…I just worry, is all."

Valeria smiled. "I know, but you don't need to. I'm more than strong enough to look after myself, and besides, Yuffie'll be there too."

"Are you _trying_ to give me an ulcer?" Vanessa demanded.

"Yuffie's a strong warrior." Valeria said. "She's the Wutai princess or whatever, remember?"

"Meh."

Valeria laughed. "You're such a brat, Nessa. See you when I get home."

Vanessa quickly rushed forward to hug her twin. " Please _please _be careful."

And then Valeria was out the door. Vanessa stayed inside, and listened as the roar of her sister's motorcycle got farther and farther away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As you may have noticed, this chapter was all the twins. Well, and some Reeve. Next chapter though, stuff starts happening. Yuffie and Valeria go to the slums and find…..well, I can't tell you, that'd spoil the surprise. ;D. Anyway, how was it? Good, bad, so-so? Whatever you think, please write a review and share your thoughts (unless your thoughts are 'OMG this story sucks', because I'd rather those opinions not be shared, if that's alright). In any case, let me know what you think. This is my first FF fanfic, and only like my fourth fanfic at all (third if you don't count The Child, which I adopted) so it's in all likelihood terrible. But, I'm doing my very best, and writing with great enthusiasm. :D Next chapter should be up soon. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here it is, chapter 2~ Has anyone been looking forward to it? I know I have, which sounds…sort of arrogant actually, I guess. Oops. XD. But in all seriousness, I was looking forward to writing this. Since I believe in letting you know who's showing up, I'll tell you now: Genesis is in this chapter~ So…be excited. I am. XD. **

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly are we looking for down here?" the perky ninja asked.<p>

Valeria sighed. "I have no idea. Something that gives out a weird power signature, apparently."

"Ooh, like maybe a new materia?"

Valeria rolled her eyes. "Always about the materia for you, isn't it?"

"Not always!" Yuffie argued. "But it could be one, right? I mean, there's tons of stuff down here no one knows about."

Valeria just shrugged.

"It's been two hours!" Yuffie complained after they had scoured two square miles of abandoned slum buildings. "How much longer do we have to keep looking?"

"Until we find something." But Valeria was exasperated as well. This was two hours she could've spent doing something else. _Anything_ else, really. Then she heard something.

"Yuffie!" she hissed.

The Wutai teen looked at her, and Valeria gestured for her to be quiet. The girl nodded.

Then Valeria heard the sound again. The scuffle of boots across the gravel. Valeria looked over at Yuffie, who nodded.

They quietly trailed after the footsteps, and eventually came upon the source. Valeria ducked behind a pillar while Yuffie crouched underneath a fallen billboard. Peering around the edge of the pillar, Valeria could see their targets clearly. A group of about eight or nine men, armed with assault rifles. And dressed strangely.

_Weird armor, _Yuffie mouthed.

Valeria nodded. It looked almost like chain mail. Which was ridiculous. No one wore chain mail anymore, it was too heavy to be practical.

"The signal came from nearby." One of the men was saying. "The energy matches the last samples taken from G."

Valeria frowned. G?

"Can we be sure of this data, though?"

"It was stolen directly from Deepground." the first man, seemingly a commander, snapped. "It's infallible, understand?"

The younger man flushed. "Yes, sir. Sorry sir."

So, whoever these people were, they weren't Deepground. That was all at once good and worrying. No more Deepground mooks trying to stir up trouble. But that of course meant it was some other group of ragtag villains for them to deal with. She sighed.

"We have a lock on the energy signal!" one of the men announced, holding a small gadget.

_Ooh, must be nice having tech_, Valeria mused. Pity Reeve hadn't given them anything so practical. She gestured at the men to indicate that they should follow them, and Yuffie nodded.

Ten minutes later, they'd arrived at what seemed to be an abandoned factor of some sort.

"This place is falling apart." The mysterious commander said disgustingly.

_It's certainly seen better days_, Valeria agreed as she sat on top of an adjacent building, noticing the peeling paint on the sign and the rotting wooden boards of the factory. Then again, this entire area had been abandoned as a whole years ago, so it was to be expected, really.

"He's inside." The soldier with the gadget said. "There's no mistaking the reading."

The commander nodded. "Cover the exits. We have to capture him."

_Capture who?_ Yuffied mouthed.

Valeria shrugged, and pulled out her phone. She quickly typed in a text to Reeve. _**Know anyone named G? He seems to be the source of the signal. Some weird soldiers are trying to catch him. **_She hit 'send' and redirected her attention back to the soldiers. They were pairing up and moving to block the entrances. Her phone vibrated, and she flipped it open. It was brief, but clear.

_**Genesis. Stop them!**_

Snapping the phone shut, she waved to grab Yuffie's attention. _We need to stop them!_ She mouthed, pointing to the men.

The Wutai girl's face lit up, and she nodded, pulling out her giant shuriken and moving into position.

_Where the hell was she keeping that thing until now? _Valeria wondered, pulling her own bladed tonfa out of their sheaths on her back. She gripped the handles, and then vaulted off the building.

She slammed her right blade into the back of the soldier she'd nearly landed on, then quickly disengaged and rolled behind a fallen pillar as the other eight directed their fire at her.

_They're machine-gun rifles? _She mentally demanded, as the rapid hail of bullets pelted the cement shielding her. _Who the hell came up with that?_

Then she heard the slicing sound of Yuffie's massive shuriken, and smiled. Her distracting the soldiers had left them wide open for Yuffie's attacks. Peering around the edge of the pillar, she saw Yuffie had taken down three more soldiers in under a minute. And now the soldier's were trying to shoot the ninja instead of Valeria.

Choosing a soldier across the courtyard as her target, she focused her powers. The experiments on her and her twin had left them able to cast on their own the spells that were normally embedded in materia.

It was with great satisfaction that she watched the soldier go down after a hefty fireball to the back. Of course she had to duck back behind her pillar immediately afterwards to avoid getting shot to pieces, but it had been fun all the same. _Five down, four to go. _

She ran out from behind the fallen pillar right as Yuffie leapt out of the shadows. Together they took down the rest of the soldiers, except for the commander, who seemed to be more skilled than they'd anticipated. He managed to dodge everything they threw at him, and Valeria couldn't get close enough to slash him with her blades.

She was spared the trouble of figuring how to kill the man when someone else did it for her.

A red sword pierced the commander from behind, killing him instantly.

Yuffie raised her shrunken, ready to throw it if this new person turned out to be another enemy.

The person in question was a young man who seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties, with red-brown hair and pale skin. He had the mako eyes of a SOLDIER, and wore a long red coat that looked a little worse for wear.

"You're Genesis?" she guessed, not relaxing the grip on her tonfa.

The man looked at her. "And you are?"

"Valeria Tyler, with the WRO. This is Yuffie." She angled a blade towards her ninja friend. "Now…_Are _you Genesis, or aren't you?"

He nodded, sheathing his sword. "I am."

Then he collapsed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, well? How was it? Good, bad? It was short, I suppose. And ended on sort of a cliffhanger? But I update rather often, so you won't have to fret over it for very long. :D **

**Anyway, please review. Or add it to your alerts. Or something. Anything, really, just let me know you're reading the story. XD. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And, here we are, chapter 3 . Now, before we get started: Come ON, people. The story isn't _that_ bad. And yet I've only had 28 people click so far. **_**Twenty-eight.**_** Pfft. The only two reviews I have are from two people who're reading my other stories. Thank you though, Amiri and SailorShadow101. I appreciate your support. XD.****But in any case, I updated sooner both because I didn't want the few people reading this to get mad at me for pulling a cliffy at the end of last chapter, and because I wanted to hurry and write more Genesis. Though somehow he isn't actually in this chapter very much. He seems to be unconscious still. *pokes Genesis* Ah well, he'll definitely be awake next chapter. :D**

**This chapter is important though, because we're gonna get the plot rolling. Slowly, mind you, like a clunky boulder on a really flat-ish hill. But rolling nonetheless. **

**Anyhow, enjoy the chapter. (And review, gosh darn you! I accept anonymous reviews, too, so there's no excuse not to say **_**something**_**!). **

* * *

><p>Valeria had phoned Reeve and told him to send a chopper as soon as she and Yuffie made sure Genesis was just unconscious and not dead. Reeve had agreed immediately, and added that he was summoning the other former AVALANCHE members to HQ so they could have a discussion once they returned.<p>

_Now we just have to carry him up to where the chopper's landing_, she mused, looking at the unconscious former SOLDIER. Genesis, Reeve had told her, had been one of the best 1st Class SOLDIERs before he'd deserted. It had been complicated, Reeve had said, involving Jenova experiments and degradation and a long list of complex situations. When he'd started trying to explain to her something about a Dr. Hollander and Banora and gene-splicing, she'd cut him off. _"I get the idea, it's complicated. Have Shelke type up a report, I'll read it later." _she'd told him.

"Yuffie," she said, calling the ninja girl over from checking the bodies for materia, "Help me carry him."

Her eyes widened. "You're not serious." She knelt down. "He's like twice my size!"

"Yeah, he's a bit on the tall side. Bit scrawny, though." she added absently, poking the unconscious man.

"Valeria!" Yuffie scolded.

The green-eyed woman arched an eyebrow but said nothing. Then her phone buzzed in her pocket.

"Hello Reno~" she answered cheerily.

"Ah, Val. How you been?"

"Great. All things considered."

"I take it you're referring to Genesis."

"Yeah. He's out cold. How the hell am I supposed to get him to the meeting point?"

"Don't worry. Rude and Tseng are here with me. They can come down and carry him up."

"That'd be great, Reno. Thanks."

"No problem. Hey," he added, starting to sound nervous, "you wanna go out for lunch sometime?"

She blinked surprised. "Sure."

"Okay, cool. Oh, we'll be landing in a few minutes. See you then." Then he hung up.

She stared at her phone, as if it were some device of magical power.

"Reno ask you out?" Yuffie asked, suddenly right behind her.

"Aah!" Valeria nearly toppled over sideways. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"So…yes?"

" 'Yes', what?"

"Reno asked you out, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Yuffied squealed excitedly. "That's great! He really likes you, you know."

"Uhm….okay." She tucked her phone back into her pocket. "Tseng and Rude are coming to help us carry him." She prodded Genesis again, and Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine. So long as they hurry up."

"What's your rush, Yuf?" Valeria asked, looking at the ninja curiously.

"Well, we're heading back to HQ after this, right? And Reeve's calling everyone over, right?"

"Yeah."

"So Vince'll be there."

"Vincent?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen him in ages. It'll be good to catch up."

"Huh."

"What?"

Valeria shrugged. "Nothing." Then she heard footsteps approaching, and stood up, whirling around and drawing one of her bladed tonfa.

"Relax." Rude said. "It's just us." He was, of course, wearing his trademark shades.

"So it is Genesis after all." Tseng said quietly, coming over and kneeling next to the unconscious man.

"Apparently." She sheathed her tonfa.

"Well, let's get him back to headquarters."

Valeria spent the helicopter ride back sitting towards the front with Reno, and they chatted about good lunch spots they could go to for their date. They were about to choose between a picnic on the outskirts and a homemade lunch at her apartment when her phone buzzed again.

"What?" she demanded, irritated at being interrupted.

"Hey, it's Cloud."

"Oh, Cloud. Hi. Sorry for snapping." She always did her best to be respectful towards Cloud. He was one of the best people she'd ever met, with a heroic streak even she couldn't match. "What's up?"

"I'm at HQ with the others. Reeve's wondering where you are."

"Let me check." She leaned forward and tapped Reno on the shoulder. "How far out are we?"

"Almost there." He pointed to a smudge on the horizon that she assumed was HQ.

"We're almost there." she relayed to Cloud. "And by others do you mean…?"

"Everyone." Cloud confirmed.

"Great." she muttered. "It's a full-on party."

He chuckled quietly and then the line went dead.

They landed outside HQ a few minutes later, and some medics rushed up to the chopper once the rotors stopped spinning to transfer Genesis to a gurney.

"We're taking him down to the infirmary," one medic told Valeria. "He's been missing presumed-dead for years. Mr. Tuesti wants to make sure he's not critically injured or anything of the sort."

"Let me know what you find?"

"Of course, ma'am."

The Turks left as soon as Genesis was safely on his way to the infirmary. They helped out the WRO when asked, but their ultimate loyalty was still to Rufus, and he'd called Tseng on their return flight, telling them to come back as soon as they were finished.

Valeria and Yuffie then made their way through the WRO base to a meeting room where the other's were waiting. Valeria made sure to send a quick text to her sister letting her know that she was back safe form the mission. Before she entered the meeting room, her phone buzzed.

_**Home soon? **_Valeria could practically envision her sister's hopeful face, and she sighed.

_**Sorry. More to do. Be home late. **_She hit send unhappily, knowing her younger twin would be displeased.

But the return message her sister sent didn't seem upset. _**No problem. See you later. **_

She sighed again, snapped her phone shut, and walked into the room.

An hour later, she'd absorbed only one piece of information.

"Chain mail?" she said incredulously. "It _was_ actually chain mail? Who the hell wears chain mail?"

Reeve sighed. "Valeria…"

"Chain mail." she said disgustedly. "Ugh."

"Returning to the situation at hand," Reeve said sternly, "It seems like these soldiers in chain mail are part of a larger group, one that's responsible for the disappearances. As of yet, however, we don't know whether the disappearances are abductions, or simply people joining their group."

"We can't go after them if they're joining on their own." Cloud observed.

Reeve nodded. "Exactly. Even so," he turned to point at the screen behind him, "there have been numerous sightings in relation to some attacks in wasteland towns, which means that they _are_ up to something."

"You want us to find out what." Vincent stated.

Reeve nodded. "We need to know what it is they're after. We've barely stabilized after the Deepground incident. We can't afford another disaster right now." He stood. "I want all of you to investigate this. Find out what they're doing. Vincent, Shelke. I want the two of you to head back out to Nibelheim. See if this group has been sighted there. Barret, take Yuffie and investigate near Calm. Cloud, I need you and Tifa to stay at Edge. Cid couldn't make it here for the meeting, but he'll be flying around keeping on an eye on things, too."

"And me?" Valeria asked, pointing at herself.

Reeve nodded. "I'm putting Genesis in your care. Once he's awake, get to know him better. Then I need you to go out west to the wastelands. Investigate the attacks, and report back."

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. You can all go." As the others started to file out of the room, however, he stopped her. "One more thing," he said. "I want you to take Vanessa with you."

She stared at him. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Valeria…"

"I can't take her out there without knowing the risks. She could get hurt!"

"She has the same powers you do, she can defend herself easily."

"She probably won't even want to go." Valeria said, switching to the next reason on her why-this-is-a-horrible-idea list.

"A chance to see her heroic twin sister in action? I doubt she'd be willing to give that up."

"I won't tell her." she said, abandoning her list in favor of being obstinate.

"Now you're just being childish."

She scowled, knowing he was right.

"Valeria," Reeve said, "She's a strong spell caster, not to mention being one of the best snipers I've ever met."

"She is a good shot." Valeria muttered. "I bought her twin pistols for our last birthday. She's murder with those…"

"So she's more than capable of defending herself." Reeve sighed. "Valeria, the decision's ultimately up to you, but I think taking her with you on this mission could be very beneficial. For the mission, and for you."

"Mm."

* * *

><p>"You really are home late." Vanessa observed as Valeria came in.<p>

"You waited up?" Valeria asked, dismayed. "It's been almost two hours."

Her younger twin shrugged. "It wasn't such a bad wait. I re-read _Loveless." _

Valeria laughed. "Again? How many times is that now? Ten? Twelve?"

"Fourteen." Vanessa said proudly.

Valeria grinned, then remembered. "Genesis likes _Loveless_, according to the file they found."

"Who?"

She sighed, and told her sister about her entire day.

"Wow." Vanessa whistled. "No wonder you couldn't come back to finish eating dinner."

"There's more."

"What?"

"Once Genesis is recovered, I have to take him with me. On a mission to the wastelands."

"What!" Vanessa looked unhappy. "That's far, Val. You'll be gone for days."

"Yeah."

Vanessa looked down. "I'll miss you."

"Miss me?" Valeria put on an innocent face. "How on earth can you miss me, you'll be with me the whole time."

Vanessa looked up, frowning. "What?"

Valeria grinned. "You're coming with."

"What?"

"Congratulations, baby sister. You're an active member of the WRO."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, well? How was it? Please review, and let me know what you think.  
><strong>

**I _should_ have the next chapter up soon (at this point though it kinda depends on how many people show interest). And, again, sorry there was no Genesis-awesomeness in this chapter. I was originally planning for there to be, but it just didn't turn out that way (because someone *pokes Genesis* is still unconscious). He'll be awake next chapter for sure though. Which'll be weird, I suppose. XD. **

**Looking forward to hearing from everyone! (Which my friendly way of saying 'REVIEW ALREADY!'. Or something like that. XD).**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Howdy, all. This is me again, LinariteLavanya (or just LL, if you prefer. It's shorter. XD.). I bring to you: Chapter 4 of Those Who Defend. * cue dramatic music***

**Valeria: *turns off stereo* You're such a weirdo. **

**LL: Huh? Aaah! Where did you come from?**

**Valeria: I'm beginning to wonder that too. *wanders off***

**LL: Eh-hem. *coughs* Anyhow, moving onward (and ignoring the fact that someone snuck into my author's note uninvited), I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it. Sort of. Parts of it were harder. But still fun! Anyway, enjoy. **

* * *

><p>Valeria walked into the infirmary the next day feeling well-rested despite having only gotten four hours of sleep. Her sister on the other hand, was alternating between grouchy and drowsy, and didn't seem particularly thrilled at having been woken up at six in the morning.<p>

"What're we doing?" Vanessa grumbled as they entered the infirmary.

"Checking up on Genesis. Ah, there he is." Valeria saw the former SOLDIER sitting on an infirmary bed, with a nurse taking his blood pressure.

" Ah, Captain Tyler." The nurse nodded to her. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Valeria answered. "Do you have any coffee?"

"You seem awake enough to me." The nurse wrote down Genesis's blood pressure on her clipboard and set about deflating the band around his arm.

"It's not for me." She pointed at her twin. "Nessa's not a happy early bird."

Chuckling, the nurse set her clipboard aside. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Valeria turned back to Genesis. "So. How're you feeling?"

The young man looked at her, and frowned slightly. "Fine." He looked at her more closely. "You're the one from yesterday. Your name was…"

"Valeria Tyler." she supplied. "This is my sister, Vanessa." She gestured to her twin.

Genesis looked startled. "You're…"

"Twins," she said, nodding. "Yeah, we are. Oh, there's the nurse."

The woman returned, with a Styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand and a file folder in the other.

"Here, Nessie." The nurse said, handing the coffee to the younger twin.

"Thanks." Vanessa sipped the coffee gratefully.

"And this, Valeria, is for you."

"Paperwork?" the older twin asked, taking the folder.

"Nope. Reeve brought that down for me to give you. It's the information on the wasteland towns, such as it is."

She flipped through the file. "This is it? Claire, this just overview maps and sketchy info."

The nurse, Claire Yale, shrugged. "Reeve said it's the most recent information."

Valeria rolled her eyes. "I'll bet." She closed the file. "How is he?" she asked, pointing at Genesis.

"Good to go, as far as I can tell. Just make sure he doesn't take any serious injuries, and doesn't strain himself in battle."

She frowned. "Is Reeve expecting us to run into trouble?"

"I'm just a nurse, Val. How should I know?"

Valeria snorted. "_Just _a nurse, my ass." Claire had been one of the most talented WRO snipers before she'd decided to retire from fighting.

"Well, Mr. Rhapsodos," Claire said, signing the sheet on her clipboard, " I officially give you a clean bill of health. Which is surprising, to be honest. You were weak and malnourished when Val found you. I'd be impressed that you recovered so quickly, but you SOLDIER types are always like that, I suppose."

Genesis just shrugged, and Claire sighed. "Well, Val, he's all yours. Just remember what I said."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Claire discharged Genesis from her care, and the ex-SOLDIER went with Valeria with no complaint.

"So, let's start from the beginning." Valeria said as she led him and her sister down to one of the parking garages. "I'm Valeria Tyler. This is my twin sister Vanessa."

"Genesis Rhapsodos."

"Great. Now, what were you doing in the slums, and why were those men after you?"

Genesis remained silent.

She sighed. "You realize we're on the same side, right?"

He looked at her. "How can I be sure?"

"World Regenesis Organization. WRO. Our goal is to help restore the planet. To fix the damage that was done to it."

"By Shinra." He said flatly.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Val's one of the best the WRO has." Vanessa chirped from behind them. "A full-on captain and everything."

"Finally woken up, have you?" Valeria cast her sister an amused look.

"Coffee's magical," her twin declared.

Valeria snorted. "Yeah, whatever." She turned back to Genesis. "The point is, we're on the same side."

He looked at her carefully, seeming to decide something. "I woke up underneath Midgard a year ago. I found…someone else, when I awoke. I took him, and we left the cavern where I had been sleeping."

She frowned. "But there was no one else near the slums where we found you. Reeve sent a team in to look around after we brought you back here."

Genesis nodded. "We split up before I went to the slums. I don't know where he is now," he added, looking worried.

"Where was he going?" Vanessa asked.

"We'd heard rumors of something going on to the west."

"The wastelands." Valeria nodded. "We're going there for our mission."

He looked surprised. "To the wastelands?"

She nodded.

"Then maybe we'll find him there."

"How long has he been gone?"

"Almost a month. He should've returned by now. Something must have happened."

"Well," Valeria said, opening the double doors that led to the garage, "hopefully we'll find him there, and get some answers about what's going on." She pulled out her car keys and went over to her car.

"Oh no. You're not serious. Not the jeep." Vanessa made a face.

"What's wrong with my jeep?" she asked, offended.

Vanessa sighed. "You can pick any car you want from the whole garage, and you pick the same old jeep."

"I love my jeep." she said defensively. "Besides, it's the best choice for a trip out to the wastelands. Get in," she ordered as she slid into the front seat. Genesis slid into the front passenger seat while Vanessa climbed into the back, muttering darkly the entire time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know, I know, it's a short chapter, I'm sorry. But it's sort of, I don't know, a transition chapter, I guess. We're going to start our wasteland adventures soon, and during our trip out into the middle of nowhere, we'll find the mysterious person Genesis got separated from. I expect you all know who it's going to be, but I won't say it, just in case there's someone out there who isn't sure. In other words: look forward to the upcoming chapters! The fun is just beginning. :D. **

**Also, for anyone who's actually reading this, sorry for the delay in updating; my doc uploader was refusing to load anything...Anyhow, review please!  
><strong>

**Oh, and please review~ Everyone who reviews, or even just adds the story to your alerts or favorites gets a personal 'thank you' on my profile page. So please review~**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Welcome to chapter of Those Who Defend. *cues fanfare***

**Valeria: *turns off stereo again* What is it with you and dramatic intros?**

**LL: Stop sneaking up on people! *grabs stereo* **

**Valeria: Hey!**

**LL: *stuffs Valeria into a closet* Anyhow, moving right along…we last left off with Valeria and company getting into the jeep and embarking on their trip out to the wastelands. This chapter is going to be lots of fun. And it's a bit long. So get comfy. *sits back with popcorn***

**Also, those of you who are reading this…be kind. Review. It'll help my self-esteem. :D**

* * *

><p>"How much farther?" Vanessa demanded.<p>

"The first town is another twenty minutes away."

"Twenty?"

"It's not my fault!" Valeria snapped.

"Are you two always like this?" Genesis asked curiously.

"Depends on the day." Valeria responded.

"Depends on the driver not getting lost." Vanessa retorted.

"I am _not_ lost."

"You are _totally_-what's that?"

"What's what?"

Vanessa pointed. "Over there."

Genesis and Valeria squinted. "Fiends." The ex-SOLDIER said. "But they're not the kind that are normally in this area."

"So what're they doing out here?" Valeria asked, and spun the wheel, turning them towards the fiends.

"Hey, Val!" Vanessa grabbed onto the back of the driver's seat to avoid being thrown out of the Jeep. "We're heading towards the fiends because…?"

"It might be related to what we're working on. We should check it out."

"You just want a good fight," the younger twin accused.

"That has _nothing _to do with it."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

Genesis, of all people, rolled his eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, they finished off the last of fiends. And discovered something interesting.

"They all had some sort of transmitter on their bodies." Vanessa said, holding up a small metallic box.

Valeria came over and knelt next to her sister, frowning. "What for?"

"Who knows? But it's definitely not normal." She tossed it to Genesis. "Seen anything like it before?"

He shook his head. "Never. Weiss might know more, if we can find him."

Vanessa frowned. "Weiss?"

Genesis nodded. "The man I found in the cavern when I awoke. He came out here to investigate, and I haven't heard from him since."

"Hold on," Valeria said, standing, "Do you mean _the _Weiss? As in, the Immaculate?"

Genesis looked confused. "There's only the one."

"He's Deepground!" she said angrily. "Not to mention dead!"

Genesis shook his head. "He's alive And he wasn't the one responsible for-"

"Of course, what was I thinking?" she muttered, starting to pace and ignoring her two companions entirely. "Ex-SOLDIER, missing in action for all these years, presumed dead…of course, he's lost his mind, what was I expecting? And of course it's not as easy as just doing the mission, no, I have to drag along my baby sister and some insane person…and stupid Reeve, what's he thinking, making me come all the way out here to-"

"Is she alright?" Genesis asked, looking worried.

Vanessa nodded. "She's fine. Just having one of her little rants. She'll be okay in a minute. You'll see."

Valeria continued walking back and forth and muttering to herself for another few minutes, then abruptly stopped. "Okay. So it's the same Weiss."

Genesis hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."

She took a deep breath. "Okay. That's okay. I can deal with that."

Vanessa watched her sister carefully. "You sure? I mean, you're WRO. He's Deepground."

"Are you trying to get me angry again?" Valeria demanded.

Vanessa put her hands up, backing off. "Alright, alright. Forget I said anything. What's our plan?"

She huffed. "We go check out the towns. Find Weiss."

"Find Weiss." Vanessa repeated cautiously.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Valeria sighed. "If you're right, Genesis, and he's really on our side-"

"He is." Genesis said confidently.

"_If_ he is," she continued, "then we need to find him, and find out what he knows. You said he came out here to investigate?"

Genesis nodded.

"Then maybe he knows something about these transceivers." she said, nodding at the device the ex-SOLDIER was holding. "At the very least it gives us one more person who'll fight on our side." _Maybe. _

They got back into Valeria's Jeep, and continued on into the town. Unfortunately, no answers were forthcoming when they arrived.

"Where is everyone?" Vanessa asked. "This place looks deserted," She hopped out of the Jeep.

Valeria and Genesis stepped out as well, both frowning.

"This town is supposed to have five hundred people in it." The green eyed twin said.

"So, where are they?" Vanessa repeated. "A whole town doesn't just empty out overnight."

Valeria unsheathed one of her bladed tonfa. "Let's go have a look around. Nessa, head with Genesis, go that way." She pointed. "I'll go this way. Call if you find anything."

Vanessa nodded. "Sure thing."

* * *

><p>"Can you fight?" Genesis asked a few minutes later as he walked with Vanessa down one of the side streets.<p>

"These pistols aren't for show," she said, amused. "I'd be a captain in the WRO too, if Val weren't so overprotective."

Genesis smiled. "Is that so."

She grinned. "It is." Then she stopped walking. "Did you hear that?" She turned slightly, drawing her pistols.

Genesis nodded, and drew his sword. "More fiends."

* * *

><p>Valeria heard gunfire several streets away, and felt a small pang of worry, which she quickly stifled. Genesis was with Vanessa, and even if he wasn't, Vanessa was more than capable of looking after herself. <em>She's fine. She's armed. She's a good shot. <em>Valeria kept up her silent mantra as she wandered through an alleyway. Then, right as she was about to double back and find another street to check out, she heard the unmistakable sounds of fighting. _But Genesis and Nessa went the other way. _She frowned, drew her other tonfa, and headed towards the fighting.

And of course the person fighting was none other than Weiss the Immaculate.

_Of course. That's just my luck. _

The white-haired man was fighting a literal horde of fiends. At first glance, there were at least thirty.

How the hell is he not dead fighting so many?, she wondered, impressed. Then she remembered. Deepground. A Tsviet no less. And the strongest of them.

_Why me? _She demanded of no one, before leaping forward to stab a fiend that was trying to jump on Weiss from behind.

He whirled, startled, and gave her a guarded look.

"Don't give me that look," she snapped. "I saved you. I'd rather it was Genesis who found you instead of me, but that's not how it worked out." A fiend tried to take advantage of her being distracted to jump at her. She stabbed it through the throat, and kicked it aside. Weiss looked mildly impressed.

"Who are you?"

"Captain Valeria Tyler, WRO. Don't you dare point those at me," she warned, as Weiss tightened his grip on his weapons. "I came all the way out here to help Genesis find you. I don't want to have to tell him I had to kill you."

"Kill me?" he repeated, smirking slightly.

"Shove it," she snapped, whirling to hack at the fiends who were circling behind her.

He chuckled, and together they quickly dispatched the remaining fiends.

Right as Weiss finished off the last one, Valeria's phone rang.

"What?" she demanded.

"Jeez, cranky much?"

Valeria inhaled, counting to ten. "Sorry, Nessa. Go ahead."

"Genesis and I just ran into a group of fiends."

"Congratulations. I found Weiss."

"Already?" her twin's voice blared from the cell phone speaker.

"Watch your tone, young lady." Valeria scolded.

"Hmph."

"And yes, he's right here. Put Genesis on."

Muttering darkly, her sister obeyed. "G, phone for you."

"G? Since when are you on nickname basis?" she asked accusingly, but her sister wasn't there anymore.

"Valeria?" Genesis's voice came through the line.

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm here. Found Weiss. Hold on." She turned to the white-haired man. "Wanna talk to your friend?"

He nodded.

"Awesome. Go ahead." She tossed him her phone.

He caught it. "Genesis?…Yes, I'm with her now…A group of fiends…No, I'm fine…Who?…Never mind. How long have I…Really?"

While Weiss was talking on her phone, she investigated the bodies of the fiends they'd killed.

"They all have the transceivers," she said to herself, frowning. "But why? And what data are they collecting?" She turned over one of the metal boxes, and noticed something written on it that she hadn't before.

Justice, it read, in big block letters.

"Justice? What the hell?" She turned the box over, but found no other markings. "Oh, great. An enigma. Wonderful."

"Valeria?"

"Huh?" she turned, and Weiss was holding her phone out.

"He wants to talk to you."

"Of course he does." She took her phone back. "Yeah?"

"Vanessa and I are heading for some sort of office building. Can you meet us there? Weiss knows the location."

"Yeah, but why? What's in that building?"

"Answers, hopefully."

"Oh. Good. I could go for some answers right about now."

"See you there."

"Yeah." She snapped her phone shut, and glanced at Weiss. "So. Office building."

"Yeah."

She sighed. "This is going to be really awkward, you know."

He chuckled slightly, but said nothing.

"Alright then, former Emperor, lead on."

* * *

><p>They met Genesis and Vanessa outside the office building.<p>

"Has anyone else told you you're identical?" Weiss said in amusement, looking back and forth between Vanessa and Valeria.

"It might've been mentioned at some point, yeah." Valeria answered. "Though we aren't entirely identical, you know."

They started walking up the wide stairs leading to the entrance, and something occurred to her.

"Why's there an office building? There are no companies all the way out here."

"It's owned by a group called Justice. Apparently they come out of nowhere and just set up shop here."

"There was a logo, on the transmitters. It said Justice." Valeria frowned. "Who are these guys?"

Weiss shrugged. "No idea. By the time I realized they were involved, everyone in the town had disappeared."

"That's something I was curious about." Vanessa said. "Where _did_ everyone go?"

"Joined up maybe?" Valeria offered. "In any case, we need to find out who the hell these people are. Let's go." She led the way into the building.

"Okay," she said, once they reached the lobby. "Let's split up. Vanessa and I'll go check out the basement levels. You guys check the upper floors."

They nodded.

"So." Vanessa followed her twin down the ladder in an elevator shaft (the elevator itself was frozen in the upper levels somewhere). "Here we are."

"Wherever here is, yeah."

There was a pause, then "You're taking this whole Weiss thing pretty well."

She grunted. "Am I?"

"Yep."

"Watch your step," Valeria warned, "This rung's fallen out." She cautiously moved down the ladder, wondering why such a new building already had signs of disrepair. .

Vanessa acknowledge her warning, and then kept talking, "What do you think of them? Weiss and Genesis, I mean."

She frowned. "What're you talking about?"

"Well, Reeve's probably gonna have you working with Genesis for a while. I'm not so sure about Weiss. You said he was in Deepground?"

"He wasn't just _in _Deepground, he was _in charge _of Deepground. Their 'emperor' or whatever."

"But G said is wasn't Weiss's fault?"

_Again with 'G'_. "Vincent said something about Hojo taking control of him through a Synaptic Net Dive. Or… something like that."

"Huh. Well, that means he wasn't responsible for what happened, right?"

"He was in charge of Deepground ages before Hojo got to him, Nessa. And according to the reports he wasn't exactly Mr. Friendly then."

"G said the Restrictors were pretty severe when they were in charge of Deepground. Weiss was probably just, I dunno, acting out?"

"Why are you defending him?" Valeria demanded, stopping her descent and looking up at her sister.

Vanessa sighed. "All I'm saying is that there's more to the guy than you think. At least, I assume there is."

She snorted.

"I'm serious, Val. I mean, so far all he's seen of _you _is a WRO officer with good fighting skills and a bad temper. And there's more to you than that, right? I bet he's the same."

"It's not the same thing." she muttered, but continued climbing down the ladder.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything else.

Eventually they reached a level that had thin railing and a service door. They hopped off the ladder and through the door.

"Basement Level 4," Vanessa said, cheerfully reading the plaque on the other side of the door. "Cool."

"I guess." Valeria looked around. "What's down here, I wonder."

Vanessa shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Valeria nodded, but suddenly her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Valeria?"

"How did you get this number?" she demanded.

"Your sister gave it to me." Genesis said, sounding just the tiniest bit smug.

_Well, wasn't that thoughtful of her. _"…What do you want." she asked flatly.

"We found some schematics of the building. I'm sending them to your phone now."

Her phone beeped twice. "Yeah, I got them, thanks."

"Weiss and I are heading up to the top floor. You?"

"Well," she said, turning on her speaker phone and checking out the schematics on her phone's screen, "according to this, there's some sort of lab down here. We'll go check it out."

"Alright. Be careful."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. I'll call if we find anything."

She snapped her phone shut and together she and her sister headed towards the Justice lab.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, how was it? Good, bad? Review, and let me know what you think (I accept anonymous reviews, so there's really no excuse not to). Next chapter should be done soon. **

**Oh, and I recently started a forum on here called The Roadhouse. It's an awesome place where you can advertise your story/forum/community/etc., or ask for more reviews, or just hang out and talk with some awesome people. The (web) address is on my profile, both at the op and in my announcements section. So come on by, everybody's welcome!**

**Looking forward to hearing from you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Greetings, all! I worked hard on this chapter, so I hope you like it. :D Oh, and a heartfelt thank-you to _SailorShadow101_, the loyal #1 fan of Those Who Defend. You're so wonderful!**

**Now…We left off with Valeria and Vanessa about to check out the basement lab. And since the V-twins are actually experiments themselves (though to be fair, who in this series **_**hasn'**_**t been experimented on at some point? XD) we'll get a little bit of background on them and their powers. So…onward to adventure! *salutes***

* * *

><p>"Mmm. Nothing beats that nice lab smell." Valeria mocked, inhaling deeply as they approached a door that had <em>LAB 1 <em>in huge bold letters on it.

Vanessa just sighed. She still didn't like labs of any sort, whether they were scientific, medical, or…any sort of lab at all, really. It had been ten years since they'd escaped from the lab where they'd been experimented on, but the time passed seemed to do nothing for her dislike of them.

"You okay?" Valeria asked, looking at her with a face that clearly said 'worried older sibling'.

Vanessa nodded. "Fine."

"You can wait out here if you want," she offered.

"No, I can manage."

Valeria nodded, but she knew that her younger twin still feared labs. She couldn't blame her really. They'd been taken from their parents at the age of four and kept in that lab for years. Ten years, in fact.

Ten years in, ten years out, she mused. I'm twenty-four years old, and I've spent most of it either trapped or running and hiding to avoid getting re-captured. Her running had ended after the Shinra corporation had finally been destroyed. Because while Shinra hadn't been directly responsible for her and her sister's suffering, they'd funded the group who had, and Valeria was sure that they'd had files on them. So they'd stayed in hiding until it was all over.

Well, not entirely in hiding. Valeria had run a sort of private bodyguard service, for people venturing out of the city who wanted protection from fiends. It had been surprisingly profitable. They'd managed to make a decent life for themselves while avoiding any serious notice. And then Shinra had fallen, and the WRO had started up.

_And that's how I ended up here. _Valeria tapped buttons on the door's keypad until it opened. _Well, at least escaping from that lab taught me some useful hacking skills. Though I suppose I could have just blasted the door open with magic. _

Because that was something else she and her sister had gotten out of being guinea pigs. The experiments they'd undergone, she remembered, entering the Justice lab but seeing another one in her mind's eye, had involved Valeria and Vanessa being injected with liquid materia. Similar to how SOLDIER members had been injected with mako. Except materia was inherently magical in nature, so in addition to getting an overall stamina boost, they'd become imbued with magic itself.

Shaking off her cobwebs of memory, she looked around the room they'd entered. It was large, and white. Ceilings, white with bright fluorescent lights that made her blink when she turned them on. White tile floors. White walls, plastered with diagrams and sheets of information.

"Grab those," she said, nodding to the papers on the walls.

"Yeah." Vanessa moved to the nearest wall, and started untacking sheets from the wall.

While her twin was doing that, Valeria moved over to the nearest computer and parked herself on a stool in front of it. She turned it on and frowned as the screen flared to life, displaying the last file the previous user had been working on.

"They must've pulled out pretty quick," she said, thinking out loud, "If they didn't even bother to clear out any of their files or papers."

Vanessa nodded. "I agree. If what they're doing is so special and secret that they need to be all the way in the middle of nowhere, why not at least put their research away somewhere. Why leave it out in the open?"

"Maybe because this place it out in the middle of nowhere?" Valeria answered, downloading the files from the computer onto some blank discs. "Maybe they thought no one's come all the way out here?"

"Or something happened so suddenly that they didn't have a chance to follow their procedures."

"But this lab is practically stripped clean." Valeria pointed out. "There was obviously something in those tanks," she pointed to stasis chambers on the far side of the room, "that isn't there now."

"Or someone." Her twin answered darkly.

Valeria just sighed. She was about to say something else when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"It's Genesis."

"What's up?" she asked, pulling out a finished disc and popping in a new one, before transferring some more files.

"There's nothing worth mentioning up here, but…"

"But?"

"This place looks like someone went on a rampage." Weiss' voice came through the phone.

"Did you just steal the phone?" she asked curiously.

"I might have."

She muffled a laugh.

"Valeria?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm here."

"Anyway, everywhere we go, it looks like someone got here first. And they were pissed."

"How pissed? Pissed as in 'you gave me the wrong kind of coffee' or pissed as in 'I'm going to destroy the world'?"

"Mm. I'd vote more middling. 'You did something to me and I'm taking it extremely personally'-pissed."

"Huh." She typed on the keyboard, trying to access an encrypted file. "Well, that's interesting."

"How's the lab?"

"Eh. It's a lab." Like her sister, she wasn't thrilled at being there. She wasn't scared of them, really. They just made her uncomfortable and cagey.

She could imagine his confused frown. "Meaning?"

"Meaning I'm getting anxious and bored." She slammed the keyboard. "And this file is encrypted six ways to Sunday, which is pissing _me_ off."

Silence.

"You still there?" she asked.

"…Yeah."

"Something wrong?"

"You're a little…temperamental."

This time she didn't bother to smother her laughter. "Yes," she agreed, "I am."

He chuckled. "Just copy the file. I'm sure there's someone who can open it for us later."

"I'll give it to Shelke."

"Shelke's alive?" Weiss sounded surprised.

"What, you didn't know that?" She transferred some computer files to a fresh disc and moved on to a cluster of files titled 'Diamond Serum'. "Vincent took her in after Shalua died. She's doing really well," she added.

"…Good." Weiss said softly after a moment of silence. " I'm glad to hear it."

"In any case," Valeria continued, "there are some empty pods down here that seem to have something or someone inside of them at some point. Maybe whatever was in them did that damage you and Genesis saw?"

"Maybe," he agreed. "Being an experiment is certainly just cause for a rampage."

"You're telling me…" she muttered.

"Valeria?"

"Nothing," she said abruptly. "Never mind."

"Valeria-"

Whatever Weiss said was drowned out by the shattering of a tinted glass window on a far wall. Some resembling a cross between a rhinoceros, a porcupine, and a leopard emerged.

"Valeria? Valeria, are you there?" The voice coming from her phone sounded very distant as she stared at the monstrosity at the other end of the room. Vanessa likewise looked stunned.

"I think I'd better call you back," she said weakly. "We're about to get eaten by something nasty."

"Valeria!"

She snapped her phone shut and put it on the stack of finished discs.

"Sis," Vanessa said, drawing her pistols. "Any ideas?"

"Run?" she offered cheerfully, drawing her bladed tonfa. "Though with a physique like that, I doubt we'd make it very far."

"Be serious, please." Vanessa aimed at the monster.

Valeria tilted her head, considering. Then… "Nah," she said, grinning. "Being serious is no fun."

Unfortunately, Vanessa's bullets couldn't penetrate its thick skin, and Valeria's blades kept getting stuck in the quills sticking out; they seemed to be made out of extremely solid and unbending cartilage. Valeria's eagerness for a fun fight quickly turned to irritation as all their attacks bounced off.

"Having fun?" Vanessa snapped as Valeria's tonfa got caught for the twelfth time.

"No need to be snarky," Valeria chided, wrenching her blades free and leaping backwards as the monster swiped at her with a paw that had claws as long as kitchen knives.

"Physical attacks aren't working," Vanessa said seriously, firring another clip at the creature to distract it from her sister.

"Oddly enough, I noticed that." Valeria answered in a falsely cheery tone.

Vanessa opened her mouth to fire back a retort when suddenly the monster leapt at her, knocking her flat on her back.

Valeria saw red. She didn't notice Weiss and Genesis slamming through the door and into the room. She didn't notice that somehow during the fight some of the computers had gotten damaged and were now catching things on fire. All she saw was her sister, pinned down by a monster.

She charged forward, focusing only on the monster. On taking it down.

She channeled her power. Her magic. The result of ten years of experimentation. She chose the element of thunder; it was the element she could put the most power behind. She could channel it into her blades, as well.

Which is exactly what she did. Focusing her power, she channeled thunder energy into her blades. And surged forward, stabbing with her right blade, straight towards where the monster's heart should be.

Her electrically-charged attack had enough energy behind it to drive straight through the mass of spiny quills and the thick skin, stabbing into the creature's body. Piercing its heart.

It gave a gurgled roar, but fell over, away from her sister.

Which was all that really mattered, in Valeria's opinion, watching the creature's last wheezes with a sort of weary detachment. She hadn't used her powers in quite a while, and doing so suddenly and using so much energy had left her feeling worn out and tired.

The last thing she saw before blacking out was her sister's face, looking startled and worried.

"Val!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, so…how was it? Throw me a bone here. And by bone I mean review. XD**

**Seriously. I've gotten less reviews on this story than any other, except for ****Did You Find Joy?****, ****and that one's brand-new so it has a good excuse. So…please review? Please? *pleading look***


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Howdy, everybody. :D I am proud to present: Chapter 7 of Those Who Defend. Valeria'd say something witty or snarky here, but she's unconscious, Hopefully she'll wake up soon. Read the chapter to find out. ;D**

* * *

><p>From Vanessa's perspective, it felt like her sister had been unconscious forever, even though it had only been a little under an hour.<p>

A length of time that Genesis and Weiss had decided to spend scouting out the other labs. All of them, it turned out, were abandoned, with only some papers and pens to show that anyone had ever been there.

_Of course we stumbled into the one lab that had a monster in it_, Vanessa thought miserably, looking at her sister, unconscious on a lab table. The image reminded her too much of another time, another place. Of seeing Valeria on a similar table, with glaring lights pointed at her while scientists surrounded her, taking blood samples and scribbling notes.

She shook her head, trying to banish the memories that still haunted her dreams.

Valeria stirred, groaning.

"Val?" she whispered. She'd moved the stool her sister had vacated earlier so it was next to the table; she'd been sitting at her sister's side ever since Weiss had lifted her up and put her on the table.

Her sister's eyes fluttered open.

"Val?" she asked again.

"Who the hell hit me with a sledgehammer?" her twin demanded. "My head hurts."

Vanessa let out a shaky laugh. "You're awake."

"No kidding." Valeria sat up, and winced. "Ack."

"Val?"

Valeria waved off her twin's concern. "I'm fine." Then frowned. "But why am I up here?" She gave the table a glare that could have caught an iceberg on fire.

"You fainted, remember?"

Her sister turned the glare on her. "I didn't faint."

"Val-"

"It wasn't a faint," she sniffed. "I just blacked out, is all."

"It's the same thing, sis."

"No, it's not. Fainting is for girly people."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I take it you're feeling better, then?"

"My head hurts. But otherwise, yeah. I'm good to go." She looked around the lab. "Genesis and Weiss?"

"They're patrolling the halls, in case there're more monsters lurking around."

Valeria nodded. "Go find them, and let's get out of here. I'll grab the stuff we collected."

Vanessa obeyed, sliding down off the stool and exiting the lab.

Valeria quickly snatched an empty laptop case out of a drawer and filled it with the papers her sister had gathered and the discs she'd made. She sorted the papers tidily into one section of the case, putting the discs (which were in jewel cases) neatly into another pocket.

Neatness was something that ebbed and flowed with her. Her bedroom could be found either horrendously messy or spotlessly clean depending on the mood she was in. And, like most of her quirks, this fluctuation traced back to her confinement. Sometimes neatness appealed to her; she'd been in a methodically organized environment for ten years of her life. But it was that same exact reason that led her to lean in the opposite direction on some days. The neatness might horrify her, and she'd toss things around and deliberately create clutter just to have something totally opposite of an orderly environment.

Her sister put up with this, partially because she had her own bedroom, and partially because she seemed to understand that it was something Valeria _had_ to do. It was a way of coping. She wouldn't let herself be scared of their past, but it had still been traumatic. She needed to do _something_ to feel in control of her life.

"You're awake." Genesis noted, walking in the door, Weiss right behind him.

"That's very observant of you," she said wryly, lips turning up at the corners. "Now what color are my eyes?"

Genesis rolled his eyes, something he'd been doing with increasing frequency since they'd met.

She turned to Weiss. "How about you? Care to give it a try?"

The white-haired man smirked. "Green. Feeling better?"

"Much." She tossed the laptop bag at him. "That has all the information we gathered. Do not drop it, or I'll kill you."

His smirk widened into a grin. "I doubt that."

"Care to have a go?" she challenged.

"Oh no you don't." Vanessa stepped in between them. "You," she pointed to her twin, "Just woke up."

"I feel fine." Valeria offered.

"And you," she continued, ignoring the interruption, "really shouldn't provoke my sister."

"Oh really."

"Was the barbecued monster not a sufficient demonstration?" Valeria drawled, leaning back against a counter.

Weiss opened his mouth to say something, but Vanessa promptly clapped a hand over it.

He arched an eyebrow.

She glared at him. "No provoking my sister. Not unless you wanna be lugging her unconscious body around all day because she feels obligated to blast you into next month."

He paused, then shrugged. "Fine," he said, once Vanessa had taken her hand away. "Now that you've brought it up, though," he turned back to Valeria, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked innocently.

"Little late for that," her twin observed. "You already gloating about barbecuing the baddie."

"Mm. I suppose I did, didn't I?"

"You're not answering the question." Genesis pointed out.

"No," she said curtly, "I'm not." She pushed off from the counter. "Let's get out of here. The sooner we get back the better."

"Where are we going to stay?" Genesis asked a few hours later, while they were in Val's jeep driving back to what used to be the bustling metropolis Midgar.

"WRO headquarters not posh enough for you?" Valeria asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I don't like the idea of staying someplace where everyone's going to want me dead." Weiss said.

"That does seem like it'd be stressful." she acknowledged. "But it's up to Reeve, I suppose."

"It's not, actually." Vanessa piped up from the backseat, where she sat next to Genesis. Somehow Weiss had gotten shotgun and was riding up front with Valeria.

"Oh?" Valeria arched an eyebrow and looked at her twin through her rearview mirror.

"I already called Reeve." she admitted. "He said it's up to you. He was really…surprised, to hear about Weiss."

"I'll bet," she muttered. "Wait," she frowned, "what do you mean exactly, it's up to me?"

"You get to choose where Weiss stays. Oh, and Genesis, too."

She groaned. "Swell. I'm WRO's babysitter for former criminals."

"Don't make me stay at your headquarters," Weiss warned. "I'll take it personally."

She glared at him, but didn't answer.

"They can move in with us!" Vanessa said cheerfully.

They were nearly vaulted form the jeep as Valeria slammed on the brakes.

"I'm sorry," she said calmly once they'd settled back into their seats, "I must have something in my ear. Care to repeat that?"

Vanessa looked nervous. "Uh, well, I just said that, uh…"

"Yes?"

"Well, that Genesis and Weiss could, uh…"

"Speak up, dear. I can't hear you."

"…move in with us." she finished very quietly.

"You see, that's exactly what I was hoping I didn't hear."

"It's not like we don't have room." Vanessa said, "We have a spare bedroom, even."

Valeria started driving again, not answering.

"We wouldn't even have to get furniture right away," the younger twin continued, "We can just get a couple mattresses and some blankets and stuff."

Still no answer.

"Val?"

"I'll be housing the enemy," she groaned. "Wonderful."

"Hey-" Weiss started, but got cut off by Vanessa.

"They're not the enemy," Vanessa pointed out, "They're just two guys who need a place to stay."

Valeria turned her head to survey the two men in question. "I'm not a good roommate," she started.

"You're fairly decent," Vanessa disagreed.

Valeria rolled her eyes, but continued. "But since I'm letting you live with us for free, I'd rather not here your grievances about what a sucky roomie I am. Got it?"

"So you're letting us move in?" Genesis said, looking surprised.

"Yes," she said grudgingly. "I am."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So~ How was it? Review, let me know what you think. I always love hearing from everyone. :D **

**And sorry for not posting sooner; I no longer have internet at my house so I have to bike down to the library to go online. XD  
><strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I present to you Chapter 8 of Those Who Defend! **

**Valeria: *appears out of thin air* If you play that stupid stereo fanfare again, I'm gonna kill you. **

**LL: *edges away* I wouldn't dream of it, dear. Pay me no mind. **

***Valeria leaves***

**LL: *sweat drop* Anyhow…onward to adventure! In this chapter we have the guys moving in with the V-twins, and the weirdness that ensures, including some Weiss-Valeria banter (which isn't anything new, really XD), Vanessa being her sweet self, a bit of Val being OCD (explained, I promise), and other various things. Enjoy! :D**

* * *

><p>"You live here?" Weiss said, looking inside their apartment from the doorway.<p>

"If you don't like it, there's a dumpster in the alley," Valeria suggested.

He snorted. "I'll pass, thanks."

"Then put a cork in it." She brushed past him and headed for the spare bedroom while Vanessa locked the front door. "This way."

Their apartment had three bedrooms, three bathrooms (one attached to each bedroom), a living room of sorts, and a kitchen. The rooms in question weren't big by anyone's standards, but were spacious enough so that no one felt claustrophobic. And the bedroom they were giving to Weiss and Genesis was the largest of the three. Which was actually only fair, Valeria reasoned. They'd both be bunking in it, while she and Vanessa each had their own room.

"The two of you will be sleeping in here." She opened the door, revealing the bedroom. "It's pretty much empty," she said apologetically, gesturing to the sparse room that currently contained only a desk and a bookcase half full of books. "But I'll be going out later to get some mattresses or beds or something."

"Where's your room?" Weiss asked.

"Why, so you can murder me in my sleep?" But she led him to her door anyway. "This is my room."

"We don't get to see inside?" The white-haired man stared pointedly at her closed door.

"No," she said seriously, "You don't."

He frowned at her for a moment, then shrugged. "It's your apartment."

"Vanessa's room is that one," she said, pointing to another closed door. "And this is the hall closet," she added, rapping her knuckles on it. "Which was originally created with the intent to house coats and jackets. We use it to store spare weapons," she said with a chuckle.

Both men smiled at that, and Valeria felt for the first time that maybe having them there wouldn't be totally horrible.

* * *

><p>An hour later, she'd gone out and purchased two mattresses. "I tried to find cheap cots or something," she said, shoving one of the mattresses through the front door, "but this was the best I could do on our budget."<p>

"It's fine," Genesis assured her.

"Where's the other one?" Weiss asked, coming over to grab the other end of the mattress.

"Outside with my motorcycle."

"No one'll try to take it?"

"No one with half a brain in their head."

He chuckled.

"I'll go get the other one," Vanessa said, getting up off the couch, where she'd been sitting with Genesis.

"I'll help you," the ex-SOLDIER said, setting down the book they'd been reading.

"You two are getting awful cozy!" she shouted after them. "Jeez…"

"You're being a little overprotective," Weiss said as they carried the mattress into the bedroom, "He's not a danger to her."

"She's my sister," she said defensively, narrowly avoiding being whacked in the side by the doorknob jutting out at her as she squeezed into the room. "Besides, the way our lives have been, paranoia's the best course of action."

"And how have your lives been?" he asked seriously, dropping his end of the mattress the same moment she dropped hers.

"Recently, not bad. In the past…" She scowled.

"Bad?"

"Bad," she agreed. "Very, very bad."

"Anything to do with how you can electrocute a monster ten times your size?" he asked casually, leaning against the wall.

Her eyes narrowed. "So what if it is."

He shrugged. "Just curious."

"Don't be," she said.

It seemed like he was going to say something more, but Genesis and Vanessa appeared with the second mattress, and Valeria quickly left the room to avoid being plowed over.

* * *

><p>Vanessa had left to go grocery shopping once they'd gotten both mattresses inside; leaving Valeria to deal with getting Weiss and Genesis settled in.<p>

_Which might_, she realized in retrospect, _have not been a good decision on my part. _

_Oh well. _She shrugged. Nothing she could do about it now. They needed groceries, and Valeria didn't like shopping, so she'd chosen to stay home instead.

She entered the small local food store. It was run by an older woman, Sarah, and her daughter, Margaret.

"Vanessa, dear!" Sarah called from her rocking chair behind the counter. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Very well, dear. Margaret?" she called towards the supply room. "Vanessa's here, darling."

"Hi, Nessie," Margaret said, emerging from the room holding a small dustpan and broom. "How've you been?"

"Good, all things considered. You?"

"Same old, same old." She smiled. "Anything I can help you find?"

"Yes, actually. Do you know if anyone still sells Banora apples?"

She frowned. "I'm not sure…"

"We have 'em here!" Sarah said. "The village itself was destroyed, but I know a fella who lives nearby. He picks 'em when they're ready and sends me a boxful."

"I didn't know those were Banoras," Margaret said, surprised. "They're really delicious," she added.

The older woman snorted. " Of course they are. They're _Banora_ apples."

"I don't suppose I could buy some from you?" Vanessa asked.

"Of course you can, dear. Let me go fetch some for you." She rose from her chair and vanished into a back room, emerging a moment later with a wooden basket full of apples. "Here you are, dear."

"Wonderful! Thank you so much!" She quickly gathered the other food supplies, paid for her purchases, and left.

* * *

><p>Valeria felt extremely nervous. She'd never lived together with anyone besides her sister before. Well, not counting the ten years spent surrounded by people; that hadn't been living, not really.<p>

She'd had a friend over now and again, usually Reno or Yuffie, but no one had so much as spent the night there, much less moved in.

And as was typical when she got nervous, she set about organizing anything and everything she could lay her hands on.

"What're you doing?" Weiss asked when he emerged from the room he shared with Genesis and found her sitting in a corner of the living room, surrounded by books she'd pulled from a nearby bookshelf.

"Alphabetizing," she said absently, picking up a book titled Motorcycle Maintenance and putting it in the M stack.

"Why?" he asked, looking at her as if she'd lost her mind.

She shrugged. "Felt like it." She frowned at a book that had no title on its spine and opened it.

He came over and sat on the ground nearby. "You just randomly felt like organizing your books?"

The mystery book was called Sharpshooting For Dummies. She'd gotten it as a gag gift for Vanessa's last birthday. "It's not random." She added it to the S stack.

"No?"

"No," she said firmly, reaching for a thick volume on calligraphy. _Why the hell do we have this? _"I have a reason."

"Care to share what that reason is?"

"You make me nervous." She nudged the pile of R books to the side and started a stack for C.

His eyebrows raised up. "I make you nervous?"

"Extremely," she said honestly. "Can you pass me that book over there?" She pointed to the paperback by his foot.

"10 Ways to Charm A Moose?" He looked at her expectantly. "Charm the wildlife often, do you?"

"It's a comedy book." She snatched it from him. "And it starts with a number!" she said, feeling irritated.

"So?"

"So I don't like books that start with numbers. I'm _alphabetizing_, here." She gestured to her tidy piles of books. "Numbers aren't letters."

"Put them at the end," he suggested.

"Hm. Okay." She put the book to the side. "Is there any particular reason for why you're sitting here watching me be neurotic?"

"I find it interesting."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure."

"Hey, guys, I'm home!"

Valeria glanced up from the book she was holding and saw her sister in the doorway. "Welcome back. How was it?"

"Good. Sarah and Margaret are the same as always."

She nodded absently. "Yeah. They never change, those two." She frowned at the basket. "What's that?"

"Oh," Vanessa flushed. "Just some apples."

"Apples," Valeria repeated flatly.

"Apples," Vanessa agreed before suddenly dashing off to put away the groceries.

Valeria stared after her. "Did that seem strange to you?" she asked Weiss.

He shrugged. "She's your sister. You tell me."

"She was blushing," Valeria said, blinking. "Why was she blushing?"

He shrugged again. "Who knows?" He held up a book. "This one's in another language."

"Huh?" She glanced at the book. "Oh, um…" She frowned. "Throw it out."

He blinked, surprised. "Throw it out?"

"Or donate it or something. I don't want it here."

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

"It doesn't fit the system," she answered, picking up another book and moving it to the appropriate pile.

"The system?"

"I'm alphabetizing. It's bad enough that some of these start with numbers…" She scowled at the offending volumes, "Much less something that isn't even written in the same language."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Weiss said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Just let her be," Vanessa advised, returning from putting away her groceries. "She's in one of her tidiness fits. Here, give me that book."

Weiss handed it to her. "Does she do this often?"

"Not so much lately. I guess you guys being here is making her anxious," she added with an apologetic smile. "She should be okay in a little while."

"But…why?" Weiss asked. "Why is she doing this in the first place? There're better ways of relieving stress. She seems like someone who'd pick a fight or something."

Vanessa shrugged. "Valeria's way of dealing with things that upset her is sort of hard to understand if you're not used to it. This freakish need to organize goes back to, well…" She sighed. "Never mind."

But Weiss wasn't going to let it go that easily. "Goes back to what?" He looked at her seriously. "Who exactly are the two of you?"

"None of your business," Valeria said coldly, standing up suddenly. "We're already doing you a favor by letting you stay here. Don't make me regret it."

"Feeling better?" Vanessa asked.

"Alphabetizing is boring," she said, and proceeded to kick over one of her stacks of books.

Weiss stared at her.

"Val's inclined to have mood swings," Vanessa said matter-of-factly.

"You don't say."

"Mm."

Valeria glared at them. "So I'm a little bipolar. What of it?"

"Nothing," Weiss said, deciding to drop the subject for now.

Vanessa looked her sister over. "But if you're done being OCD for now, that means you're back to normal?"

The older twin shrugged, but smiled a bit. "As normal as ever."

"Wonderful. Because it's your turn to cook dinner."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So…sorry for the long wait. There was the whole no-internet thing, and even once that was fixed, other stuff kept happening to stop me from updating. But I'm back on track now! I'll probably be updating about every week again, so….yeah. :D **

**In any case, review and let me know what you think. :D I love getting PMs, too. Feel free to message me about anything; I don't bite. :)  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'M BACK! Thank you all so so SO much for putting up with this ridiculous hiatus I've had going; I know how frustrating it is to get attached to a fic that suddenly stops partway through; I apologize for doing that to you guys. Anyhoo, I'm back in business now, so hopefully there will be no obnoxiously long breaks in the near future. :) **

**So…..this chapter's is a bit on the short side, but it's quite important. Read to find out why. ;) **

* * *

><p>"This is going to go badly," Valeria said through teeth gritted as she gripped the steering wheel of her jeep tightly.<p>

"Relax," her sister advised. "You'll give yourself an ulcer."

The green-eyed twin muttered something obscene and hit the gas pedal angrily, blasting them down the street.

"You're in a good mood," Weiss drawled.

Valeria met his eyes in the rearview mirror and gave him a cheerfully manic smile. "But of course. I get to explain to Vincent and the others why the two of you are living in my apartment and not off decomposing somewhere. It didn't really come up at the last meeting, since it was only Genesis, but it'll definitely come up now that you're here."

"Huh," Weiss said, slanting a look at Genesis, who was sitting beside him in the back seat. "Should be interesting."

The corner of the former SOLDIER's lip twitched up into a smile, but he said nothing.

"Be nice," Vanessa chided. "Valeria's worried that everyone will be upset with her."

"No need to waste time worrying over it," Weiss remarked, smirking. "Obviously they're going to be angry."

Valeria exhaled sharply. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome."

The older twin jerked the wheel sharply to the right, almost sending all of them flying out of the jeep.

"What was that for?!" Weiss demanded.

"Oops," Valeria said in a monotone. "My hand must've slipped."

Vanessa muffled a snort of laughter, and Genesis seemed to suddenly find the passing buildings very interesting.

"You're sort of a brat," Weiss said irritably.

"You started it," she told him. "You could've said something nice to reassure me, but oh no: 'They're going to be mad at you, Valeria, no doubt about it'." She fixed him in her icy green glare. "Care to say you're sorry?"

Weiss crossed his arms. "No."

"Okay." The jeep swerved violently again.

"Val!" Vanessa clutched her seat. "Don't turn me and G into sacrificial casualties, please."

"Mmmm…." Valeria seemed to consider it. "You'd survive a crash. Not so sure about Red over there, though," she added, flickering a glance over her shoulder at Genesis. "But you'd be fine."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "That's not the point, Val."

"No," Valeria agreed cheerfully. "The point is that Weiss was being an asshole."

The younger twin sighed. "The two of you are going to get us all killed."

"There's just the four of us," Valeria pointed out. "And you and I are pretty close to invincible."

"And Genesis and I are squishy push-overs," Weiss said sarcastically.

"Glad we agree on that, at least," Valeria said, eyes sparkling.

Vanessa sighed deeply. "We're here."

Valeria rolled her eyes. "I know that, Nessa." She turned into the parking garage.

Vanessa watched as her twin hopped out of her precious jeep, pocketing the keys. She seemed lighter than she had been when they'd left the apartment. Vanessa waited until Valeria and Genesis had started for the elevator before turning to Weiss. "Thank you," she said.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look," she said seriously. "You picked a fight with her on purpose, to distract her." She tilted her head. "Am I wrong?"

He looked away.

She gave a small smile. "I didn't think so."

"Hey!" Valeria shouted. "Are you two coming, or what? If we're late Tifa'll give me one of her 'I was so worried' speeches."

Vanessa's smile widened. "Those really work a guilt trip on you, don't they?"

"No!" Valeria said insistently as they all entered the elevator. "They don't affect me at all." She crossed her arms, looking slightly embarrassed. "It's just annoying, is all."

Vanessa patted her sister on the shoulder. "Uh-huh. Sure."

Valeria tried for a glare, but it came off more like a defensive pout. "I'm serious. I don't care if she worries or not. It's completely her decision if she wants to waste time being anxious over me. I couldn't possibly care less if I tried."

"Whatever you say."

Valeria turned away with a huff.

Weiss and Genesis exchanged a look.

"So," the ex-SOLDIER said after they had arrived at their floor and started walking down the hall. "What can we expect at this meeting?"

"Shooting, hopefully."

Vanessa shot her sister an exasperated look. "I hope _not_." She turned to Genesis. "The meeting will consist of us and our usual world-saving crowd."

"It's extremely disturbing that world needs saving often enough for there to be a go-to crew," Valeria observed. "I mean, seriously. What the hell?"

"Anyway," Vanessa said, as if her twin hadn't interrupted, "Reeve will be there, and so will Vincent, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret. Odds are Shelke'll be there because she and Vincent have been joined at the hip lately, but I don't know if Cid's in town or not. Last I heard he was out running recon somewhere with the airship of his. And it's pretty hit or miss as to whether Yuffie shows up to our meetings. She's a little flighty."

"This is probably a good time to mention the fact that at least half of these reputable individuals are going to want you two dead," Valeria interjected. "Cloud seemed okay before, but he could be pissed at Genesis for the whole Zack-Sephirtoth mess and…well, you sorta nearly blew up the world," she added almost apologetically to Weiss.

"It's not my fault Hojo hijacked my body."

"No," Valeria agreed. "But regardless of who was in control, it was your face we saw when we were fighting Deepground. I'm actually surprised no one's jumped us yet," she added, looking around.

"I'm not," Vanessa said seriously. "Who in their right mind would want to take _you_ on? Whoever attacked would be lucky if they got away with being pummeled through a wall. That's not even counting Weiss or Genesis, who are formidable fighters."

"And you," Valeria added.

Vanessa gave a proud little smile. "And me."

"Are you really that important of a person here?" Weiss asked, looking over at Valeria.

Valeria blinked. "Who, me? No, not really. I'm just good at my job."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "She's one of the best."

"Because of your magic?" Genesis asked.

"No," Valeria answered curtly. "I'm one of the best on my own, thank you." She stalked off angrily

Vanessa sighed. "Sorry about that," she said to the two men while Valeria went on ahead to check in with the receptionist. "Sometimes Val gets a little touchy about our powers."

"Why?" Genesis asked curiously.

"Because it's not natural," the younger twin said sadly.

"Natural?" Weiss repeated, frowning.

"We shouldn't be this way," Vanessa elaborated. "We didn't choose it. It was done _to_ us."

There was a long moment of silence. Then…

"Experiments?" Weiss asked, his voice very quiet.

Vanessa gave a pained smile.

"What the hell are you morons talking about that has you all looking so depressed?" Valeria demanded, coming over. "We're late for the meeting; come on." She grabbed Weiss by the elbow and pulled him down the hallway after her. "You're losing points already for nearly ending life as we know it. You really want to add tardiness to your laundry list of offenses?"

Weiss looked down at her as she dragged him along, his expression unreadable. _What happened to you? What did they do?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So…..Yeah. Now Weiss and Genesis know about the V-twins being experiments, too. Which doesn't mean the issue is resolved of course. True to the girls' natures they're likely going to go out of their way to avoid talking about any of it. Particularly Val, who currently doesn't know that they know, and is rather volatile under normal circumstances. It'll be interesting to see her reaction when she finds out Nessie spilled the beans, don't you think? XD Anyhow, review~ **

**And thanks again for being so awesome, guys. I know the hiatus was annoying. xD**


End file.
